DotProduct Blog

We got spooky with the DPI-8X this past Halloween at the IAFSM's 4th Annual Educational Conference in Atlanta, GA! That afternoon, we took a field trip offsite for a live scanning workshop with the DPI-8X, DPI-8X SR, and a wide variety of terrestrial and airborne 3D scanners. This was a great opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of rapid handheld capture for small to medium sized areas. Both the DPI-8X and DPI-8X SR performed very well on site, with the latter providing the highest level of detail and also slightly better results in daylight.

We were faced with a sunny Atlanta day without a cloud in sky, which of course creates significant challenges for handheld 3D scanning. However, we were glad to see a very practical approach taken for one of the grave sites. A simple tailgate-style popup tent shielded the grave from direct sunlight, allowing for excellent data capture in all conditions. While the additional graves could not initially be captured in sunlight, we waited about an hour until the sun dipped just below the treeline and were able to capture them all successfully in that afternoon. Shade and afternoon/evening scanning are two of the best methods to avoid the sunlight limitations of the DPI-8X/DPI-8X SR. Mornings or cloudy days also do the trick.

The resulting data is shown in the images above and in the presentation below. Despite the sunlight challenges, we found the results of handheld scanning were well worth the effort. While speed of capture and convenient form factor were obvious benefits in this scenario, the quality and color detail of the results were also among the best obtained. This was due to the unique ability to move in close to the body from various angles, especially with the DPI-8X SR, which allows for the closest range of capture and thus the densest results.

We would like to thank the IAFSM for involving us in this project and look forward to similar scanning sessions at future conferences. Please click below to download the DP data for viewing in Dot3D Edit, CloudCompare, and other programs. Click here to download Dot3D Edit.